The weblog of Norman Geras

January 19, 2013

A military struggle

It seems that the war formerly known as the war on terror sometimes still is known in that way. We have this more or less from the horse's mouth - from the mouth, that is, of US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta. Talking to James Naughtie about the Algerian hostage situation, Panetta says here (at 2 minutes 30 seconds in):

This is a war: the war on terrorism... It remains primarily a military and intelligence struggle...

It's another one of these. Cue hand-wringing by the distressed defenders of abstract nouns and itinerant Guardianistas. Or, alternatively, there's the following thought (£): 'Jihadism is not a set of negotiable demands but a declaration of war, and should be treated as such.' (Thanks: Ami.)